Credit Card Perks and Benefits

From travel to shopping and more - consider a wide variety of special benefits offered by cards.

Credit Card Perks and Benefits
3 min read
Apr 12, 2024
Crunchly expert Bryan Halloy
Written by Bryan Halloy

Credit card perks and benefits can significantly enhance the overall value proposition for cardholders. Understanding these perks and benefits is crucial for making informed decisions when selecting and utilizing credit cards.

Credit card perks include everything from exclusive air travel benefits like airline companion passes and airport lounge access to hotel benefits such as free nights and status boosts. They also include rental card benefits, dining benefits, and other perks like cell phone protection and gym memberships.

For the purpose of helping you make the most informed credit card decision, we at Crunchly consider these perks and benefits to be 'extras' a credit card offers beyond rewards points, cash back, and credits (as applicable).

Incorporating Perks and Benefits Preference Into Card Recommendations

We rank credit cards higher based on how many perks/benefits they have that you prefer, and also based on the importance you assign to each of those perks/benefits. We factor in perk/benefit preference alongside other important considerations such as card issuer, rewards programs, etc. The weighting assigned to each of these factors, including perks preference, depends on what importance you assign to it.

See our writeup on the Personalized Score for full details on importance levels, but to summarize:

  • A factor with 'medium importance', denoted by '!', is weighted twice as much as a factor with 'normal importance' (denoted by '-').
  • A factor with 'high importance', denoted by '!!', is weighted twice as much as a factor with 'medium importance'.
  • A factor with 'highest importance', denoted by '!!!' is weighted twice as much as a factor with 'high importance'.

Additionally, any perk/benefit which you select that the card has is added to the total value calculation for the card. A perk is not added to the total value calculation if you do not select it, even if the card has it.

As you read through, we recommend to input or adjust your issuer preferences directly in the boxes here. Your recommended cards will be updated automatically when you input your preferences. Just put a checkmark next to the perks(s) you prefer. If you feel like you prefer one over another, you can adjust the importance of each one by selecting the '!!!', '!!', '!', or '-' buttons.

Benefits Overview

  Air Travel Perks

  • Airline Companion Pass: Complimentary or discounted companion pass with select airline(s).
  • Airfare Credits: Flight and Airfare credits are given by card issuers to be used for flights on certain airline.
  • Airline Complimentary Upgrades: Complimentary Upgrades on select airline(s).
  • Airport Lounge Access: Access to select airport / airline lounges.
  • CLEAR® Credit: Credit towards fees for CLEAR®.
  • Free Checked Bag: Free checked bag on a flight.
  • Priority Boarding: Priority Boarding on a flight.
  • TSA Precheck / Glob. Entry Credit: Credit towards fees for TSA Pre-check or Global Entry.

  Hotel Perks

  • Hotel Free Nights: Free Nights at select hotels.
  • Hotel Status Boost: Boost towards earning/upgrading status with select hotels.

  Rental Car / Rideshare Perks

  • Rental Car Insurance / Protection: Rental car insurance is a type of insurance coverage that supplements your existing primary insurance policy when you rent a vehicle. In the context of rental cars, primary insurance refers to the coverage provided by your personal auto insurance policy or the insurance offered by the rental car company.
  • Rental Car Status Boost: Boost towards earning/upgrading status with select rental car companies.
  • Uber One: Complimentary Uber One Membership.

  Other Travel Perks

  • Baggage Insurance: Addition Baggage insurance beyond what is provided by the Common Carrier.
  • PRIOR (travel magazine): Access/subscription to PRIOR.
  • Cultivist (art / museum): Access/subscription to the Cultivist.

  Food / Dining Perks

  • DoorDash: DoorDash Benefits.
  • Home Chef: Home Chef is a meal kit delivery service that provides customers with pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes to cook meals at home. It was founded in 2013 by Patrick Vihtelic and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

  Other Perks / Benefits

  • Cell Phone Protection: Additional protection / insurance for your cell phone.
  • Mobile Wallet Rewards: Rewards / benefits from using the card from your mobile wallet.
  • Peloton: Peloton Benefits.
  • Retail / Fashion Credit Credit: Credit towards certain fashion or related retailers.